Artificial leg



(No Model.) 2- SheetsSheet 1.

A. GAULT.

ARTIFICIAL LEG.

No. 390,358. Patented Oct. 2, 1888.

- WITNESSES: i J INVENTOR: 8 2 Mfiw 5'; k K BY g v 8 ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.) I 2 SheetsSheet 2.

A. GAULT.

ARTIFICIAL LEG.

Patented 0011.2, 1888.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR:

I 45 M'M BY ATTORNEYS.

NV PETERS. Pnnwumo u mr, wuhingtun. ac

arnr tries.

ALEXANDER GAULT, OF MEDFORD, MINNESOTA.

AR'TlFlClAL LEG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,358, dated October 2, 1888.

Application filed June 4, 1888. Serial No. 275.951.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER GAULT, of Medford, in the county of Steele and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and Improved Artificial Lcg, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a stable substitute for the usual heel-cord and spiralspring attachment, and which will also obviate the necessity for an instep cord or toocord, and to improve artificial legs in other respects, all as hereinafter particularly described, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of an artificial leg embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through the ankle-piece and foot. Fig. 3 isa rear view of the ankle-piece and foot; and Figs. 4., 5, 6, 7, and 8 are detail views, to be hereinafter more particularly referred to.

The invention is shown in connection with a leg adapted for use with a leg that has been amputated below the knee, A representing the stu nip-socket, B the supporting-socket, and O representingaportion ofthe thighsocket supporting arms, all of which may be of any approved eonstruction; but I prefer the rubber stump-socket and its supports shown and de scribed in Letters Patent No. 383,569, granted to me May 29, 1888.

Thethigh-socket-supporting arms O are supported from the stumpsupporting arms D, to which they are suitably hinged, and the stumpsupporting arms D form upward extensions of a base-plate, E, secured to the top of the ankle-piece F. The base-plate E of the supporting-arms, which is best shown in Fig. 6, is formed with holes a e e c, and is secured on the ankle-piece F by the bolts G G, the anklebolt H, and a screw, E. The bolts G pass downward into the ankle-piece F at each side at the back, and pass through nuts G, setinto transverse recesses G that extend from the outside of the ankle-piece into the paths of the said bolts, by which arrangements the nuts are prevented from turning. The ankle-bolt H passes downward through the central hole,

(No model.)

0, of base-plate E, centrally through the an kle-piece F, and screws into the ankle-joint J, which turns or rocks in a transverse circular bore in the foot K. The ankle boltHis of the ordinary form and arrangement; but the joint J, I form of gutta-percha orhard rubber, and find it an improvement.

The bottom of the ankle-piece F is concaved at about the center, where it is seated on the foot K, the seat k of the latter being rounded to correspond with the concave of the anklepiece, and on the top of the rounded portion It is secured a covering, is, of sheet-brass or other suitable material, and thcconcave of the anklepiece F is lined with leather, f, the said covering and lining being for the purpose of taking up wear, and also, in the case of the leather, to reduce friction.

At the back of the ankle-piece F is a vertical bore or through-slot, F, of preferably circular form, the bore being preferably eontracted, as at f, for a purpose presently explained. In the bore F is a rod, L, which is designed as a practical substitute for the heelcord commonly employed. The rod L works freely in the bore F, and its upper end is screw-threaded and provided with a nut, Z, the upper surface of the nut forming the lower bearing for a spring, L, the spring shown be ing a coiled metallic one, its upper end bean ing in the preferred form of the invention against the under side of a slide, M, which closes the upper end of bore, and is movable between the top-of the ankle-piece and the plate E, the latter being formed with an opening, E, for convenient access to the bore F when the slide is moved out, as shown in Fig. 6. The spring L works in a removable tube or housing, L", of guttapercha or hard rubber, which housing rests on the seat formed by the contracted part f of bore F, and receives the wear of the spring in the movement of the latter, and affords it a smooth guidesurface. The nut Z is formed with recesses Z for receiving a wrench.

The hcel-cord not only performs the functions of the usual elastic heel-cord, but also obviates the necessity for a toe-cord or an instep-cord, thus forming a very stable single substitute for the said cords.

The heel-rod L may be hinged at its lower end to the foot in any suitable manner that part of the bolt N and spring N will be con will allow it to rock backward and forward; but I purpose in practice uniting it indirectly to the foot by hinging it to the upper end of a bolt or guide post, N, of a heel-spring, N, the said bolt extending downward to a plane with the ball of the foot K, and the said spring being received in a recess, 7c", in the bottom of the heel portion of the foot K. The extreme lower end of the bolt N passes through a metallie or other plate, 0, which is firmly secured at its front end to the sole of the foot by a screw, 0, or otherwise, and a nut, 11., outside of the plate 0 clamps the latter against a flange or fixed washer, a, on bolt N.

On the upper end the bolt N is formed or provided with head a having upwardly-ex tending ears or lugs n between which is received the enlarged lower end of the heel-rod L, which is hinged between the said legs at by a hinge-pin, Z", washers Z" Z" being placed between the lugs n and the hinge portion of rod L. Below the head n of bolt N the latter is formed with wings or side flanges, n, which are received in a corresponding central opening, 1), in a rubber or other elasticblock, P, that is socketed in the upper face of the heel of the foot K, whereby the bolt N will be prevented from turning. 7

Such being the construction of my improvements, the operation is as follows: In the movement of the body in walking the anklepiece rocks on the joint J, and as the leg is straightened out the k nee-leverage compresses the spring L of the heel-rod, and as the said leg is again lifted and the pressure on the spring is relieved by the weight of the body being taken off the leg the spring, pressing downward on the bolt, has a tendency to move the anklepiece F forward on the ankle-joint, thus aiding the wearer in the bending of the knee andlending a natural movement to the same, and doing away entirely with instep elastic cord commonly used in other legs and performing the work ofheel and toe cord; also, when the weight of the body is thrown on the artifieialleg, the sole-plate Oand the guide-bolt N yield and the heel spring N is compressed, and although the said spring will in practice be necessarily astrong one, the weight ofthe body and the knee-leverage exerted will be sufficient to compress the spring appreciably, the result being that as the pressure on the said spring is relieved the force exerted to compress it becomes utilized, and as the spring expands it gives substantial aid to thelifting of the foot, and especially is this so in the climbing of stairs. Besides,the spring Ndestroys the solid wooden sound, so called, so noticeable with the ordinary foot.

The rubber block P allows the head a of bolt N to descend noiselessly as the spring A expands and relieves all shock.

In practice the sole-plate O and the lower cealed beneath a covering, Q, of leather or other suitable material, which is secured to the foot K in the reduced portion k thereof.

Should the spring L of heel-rod L become worn or broken, the wearer may renew the same by merely drawing out the slide, and without taking the leg apart or taking it off the wearer.

By arranging the spring at the upper end of the heel-rod its force is better utilized than were it at the bottom, and it is more effectually housed and more easily reached for repairs or removal.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an artificial leg, the ankle-piece provided with a spring-acted rigid heel-rod pivoted at its lower end, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, with the verticallybored anklepieee, of the pivoted heel-rod, a spring on the said rod, and a removable housing for said spring, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the ankle-piece having a vertical bore'back of its center, of the pivoted springacted heel-rod in said bore and a slide closing the upper end of the bore, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination, with an artificial leg, of a plate secured at its inner end to the bottom of the foot and a spring in the heel of the foot abutting the outer free end of said plate, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination, with the ankle-piece and foot, of the ankle-bolt and a hard-rubber ankle-joint, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the ankle-piece and foot, of a spring acted heelrod, a bolt in the heel of the foot, to the upper end of which the said heel-rod is pivoted, and a spring on the said bolt in a recess in the bottom of the heel, substantially as shown and described.

7. In an artificial leg, the combination,with the ankle-piece F, having a vertical bore, F, of the heel-rod L, provided with a spring, L, the foot-piece K, a spring, N, in the heel of said foot-piece, the bolt N, and the plate 0, to which the lower end of bolt N is secured, the heel-rod being pivoted to the upper end of the bolt, substantially as described.

8. The combination, in an artificial leg and with the ankle-piece thereof formed with a vertical bore, of a springactcd heel-rod in said bore, the stump-supporting arms, whose baseplate is secured to the top of the ankle-piece and formed with an opening corresponding to the bore thereof, and a slide closing the upper end of said bore, substantially as described. ALEXANDER GAUL'I. Witnesses:

ORRIN LEE, JOHN BAILEY. 

